This invention relates to a dispenser for sheet material, particularly to a dispenser that dispenses individual sheets of a material, such as paper towels, from the center of a coreless roll divided into a plurality of sheets by partially severed spaced apart lines.
A number of dispensers exist in the prior art for dispensing paper towels and similar sheet materials. One method of dispensing involves a xe2x80x9ccenter-pullxe2x80x9d mechanism whereby the sheet material is removed from the center of a coreless roll. The sheet material is pulled through a restricted opening that frictionally resists the pulling motion from the user. This resistance results in the sheet material tearing away into individual sheets at predetermined points marked by partially severed lines.
The most common design of a center-pull dispenser uses a cone or funnel shaped nozzle to provide the opening for resisting and dispensing the sheet material. This design provides a large initial entrance for the end of the sheet material roll that allows for easy insertion of the end of a new roll, while also having the restricted exit opening necessary to provide sufficient resistance to allow tearing of the perforations.
There are a couple of problems with the current center-pull dispenser designs. First, some dispensers have the point of the opening formed by the casing which is of a relatively inexpensive plastic. The repeated passage of the sheet material against the exit opening wears down this plastic, eventually making the opening too large to provide proper resistance for tearing the perforations. In most cases, the entire unit must be replaced to resolve this problem.
A second problem is the need for multiple dispensers for different types of sheet materials. Different grades of sheet material require exit openings of different sizes and shapes. Ideally, a sheet material dispenser should be adjustable to allow dispensing of different grades of sheet material.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a sheet material dispenser that has a modified exit opening that eliminates wear caused by friction from the sheet material. It is a further object of this invention to provide a sheet material dispenser that minimizes the chance of the sheet material jamming in the dispenser during operation.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sheet material dispenser with an exit opening that can be adjusted in shape or size to allow the dispensing of different grades of sheet material.
The invention consists of a paper towel dispenser for dispensing individual sheets of paper towels from a roll of paper having regularly spaced apart lines of partial severance. The dispenser is comprised of a housing and a housing door which can be pivotally opened to allow a roll of sheet material to be inserted into the dispenser. The dispenser has an exit aperture at the bottom to allow the end of the roll to protrude in order to be grasped by the user. This exit aperture is preferably located between the axis of the dispenser and the housing door in such a way as to provide space between the roll end and the wall on which the dispenser is mounted for a user to grasp the roll end.
The interior of the dispenser has a funnel-shaped platform which supports the roll of sheet material above the exit of the dispenser. The funnel-shaped platform has a rotatable ring attached at its exit. The rotatable ring has a slot which aligns with a corresponding slot in the platform to allow for the sheet material to be passed through when loading a new roll of sheet material into the dispenser. The rotatable ring is then rotated so the slot in the ring is no longer aligned with the slot in the platform. The misalignment of the two slots reduces the chances of the sheet material jamming in the platform slot during dispensing.
A paper towel tearing member is located adjacent to the exit aperture of the funnel and the opening of this member is adjustable in order to vary the size of the opening of the dispenser. This adjustment of the exit size creates an adjustment in the position at which the sheet tears away from the roll to allow the use of different types of sheet material in a single dispenser.
Optionally, a wear-resistant ring, preferably made of metal or hard plastic, is located in the housing and surrounds the exit opening, except for a slot, to permit the passage of the roll end. A spacer in the housing door enters a slot in the ring when the housing door-is closed to provide a solid ring enclosing the entire exit opening. When the user pulls on the roll end the material rubs along the plate and the friction creates enough resistance to allow separation of individual sheets of material along predetermined perforations. The ring will be extremely resistant to the wear caused by the repeated use of the dispenser. One preferred shape for the ring is an elongated rectangle.
The adjustment of the paper towel tearing member may be provided by a sliding plate composed of the same wear-resistant material as the ring.
Preferably, the ring is also removable, to allow replacement of the ring in order to adjust the shape of the exit opening to accommodate different grades of sheet material.
The ring and sliding plate assemblies can also be combined in the paper towel tearing member to provide the widest range of adjustment possibilities.